Month: November 2021

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 26, 2021

November 26th is the birthday of both gun inventor Eugene Reising (born 1884, died February 21, 1967) and the late Barton Biggs (born 1932, died July 14, 2012).  Biggs was a money manager known for his pro-preparedness stance. Pictured is a Reising submachinegun. — Our George Patton’s Birthday sale is continuing, at Elk Creek Company.  Check out the reduced prices on all of our pre-1899 antique cartridge guns, percussion replicas, percussion conversion cylinders, bayonets, and knives. The sale ends on Saturday, December 11th, 2021. — Several of our advertisers are running Black Friday sales. For example, ReadyMade Resources has a …


Taxes as a Criteria For Choosing Your Retreat Locale

JWR’s Introductory Note: This is an update and expansion to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in 2005. In the interim since I wrote it, many states including Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, and South Dakota have raised their sales tax rates. — Comparing taxes is important when choosing your retreat locale. If you are low-income, but fairly self-sufficient, then sales taxes and vehicle registration costs will be important to you. But if you have a high income, then incomes taxes will be more important to you. If …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in farmland. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Chair Powell Re-nominated, gold takes a dive. o  o  o Video: Gold’s advantage over bitcoin. Economy & Finance: SurvivalBlog reader H.L. sent this news item: Nebraska’s 1.9% unemployment rate the lowest on record in US. JWR’s Comment: This is …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 25, 2021

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving.  Give glory to God for his blessings on our families, and on our nation! — November 25th was the birthday of economist and comedian Ben Stein. His unscripted monologue on economics from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most memorable scenes in American cinema. By the way, Stein spends part of each year at his second home in Sandpoint, Idaho, so he is an honorary Redoubter. I’ve heard that he plans to retire in Sandpoint. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …


Internet Privacy Basics, by Petr

Editor’s Introductory Notes: This article was authored by the teenage son of a long-time SurvivalBlog reader. It is humbling to see that a second-generation of SurvivalBlog readers is now reaching adulthood.  (SurvivalBlog was launched in August of 2005.) Properly, the term internet (with a lower case “I”) generally refers to all interconnected computer networks, whereas Internet (with a upper case “I”) refers to the global network associated with the world wide web (WWW). The dark web refers to dead or abandoned web sites. (That is, sites that have “gone dark.”) The deep web refers to sites that are invisible to …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at killer asteroid defense. Killer Asteroids Abound: NASA’s Response Bloomberg reports: Killer Asteroids Abound. NASA Is Ready to Do Something About It. Here is an excerpt: “On a winter morning in …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 24, 2021

November 24th marks the day that John Knox died, in 1572. (He was born in 1514.) AtheistAgendaPedia says: “Born near Haddington, Scotland. He was influenced by George Wishart, who was burned for heresy in 1546, and the following year Knox became the spokesman for the Reformation in Scotland. After imprisonment and exile in England and the European continent, in 1559 he returned to Scotland, where he supervised the preparation of the constitution and liturgy of the Reformed Church.” — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …


Progressive Reloading for Beginners, by Anthony B.

There is nothing in this article about raising chickens, goats, or vegetables. I have done all the above, but there are experts with more knowledge to share. I do, however, have some knowledge to share on loading ammunition, and believe in the importance of having control over personal ammunition supplies given the current political and social situation. How many have tried to buy ammunition in the last year and a half, only to find the shelves bare? Reloading offers a solution to market shortages but requires specialized equipment and knowledge. New loaders typically turn to those with experience for information …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Like most Americans, last week I was relieved to hear that Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty, on all charges. His troubles may not yet be behind him. I am quite troubled to see the incredibly biased mass media still referring to the men he shot as “victims.”  After much deliberation, the jury conclusively found …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 23, 2021

On November 23rd, 1980, a 7.2-magnitude quake struck southern Italy killing more than 3,000 people. The casualty toll was probably so high because the tremor struck during Sunday night mass, as many residents sat in churches that crumbled in the quake. The quake was centered in Eboli, south of Naples. In nearby Balvano, children were preparing to receive their first communion at the 1,000-year-old Conza Della Comapgna church. The church was demolished and killed dozens of people, including 26 children. — We are seeking one or two more prize donors for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It is a great …